


I hate him

by Snavej



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: F/M, Miscarriage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snavej/pseuds/Snavej
Summary: Mai and Naru finally spend the night together, but then he leaves without explanation, leaving Mai in a sticky situation. Rated M for language and scenes of a sexual nature. Please review!
Relationships: Oliver Davis/Taniyama Mai
Kudos: 17





	I hate him

Chapter 1

  
"No, it's okay Nao-san. I will find somewhere else to stay." Mai sighed and rested her head in her hands. She listened to her friend a moment. "It's fine, really, you two have fun! I better go before Naru sacks me for slacking off. Bye!" She put the phone down and looked back at the work she was trying to do. Naru had asked her to rewrite the file on the last case before the end of the day, as her previous draft was 'too informal'.

But her heart wasn't in it; she was more worried about where she was going to sleep later that night. The young assistant had been kicked out of her old apartment and her new landlord wouldn't let her move in until tomorrow.

So far, every single person she knew was either out of town, or had company over. Every person that is, except Naru.

The clock read 4 pm. She had 2 hours before the SPR office would close. Mai wondered briefly if she could kip on the sofa in the office, but she somewhat doubted her boss would let her stay.

"Mai! Tea." Mai jumped at the sound of her name. She put her pen down and headed to the kitchen. Tea. It seemed to be the only reason Naru kept her around half the time.

A few minutes later she took the steaming cup on its saucer to her boss' office, and knocked.

"Come in."

Mai entered and carefully placed the cup on his desk, away from his papers. Then she waited, trying to build up the nerve to ask to stay in the office. She had to try.  
"Mai, I thought you had gotten over the notion of me thanking you for doing your job."

"I live in hope, but I actually wanted to ask a favour of you." She smiled at him, hoping desperately it would win him over to her cause.

"No, you can't have more time off. Now leave, some of us are trying to work."

"No, I don't want more time off!" Mai said angrily. "I was going to ask- Oh never mind." She turned on her heel and stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her. She had only had one day off in the last month, and that was to visit her parents' graves on her mother's birthday. Admittedly, she had been late the next day, but staying up all night crying sometimes lead to oversleeping the next morning.

Back at her desk, she gave up the case file as a bad job, she would do it tomorrow. Finding somewhere to sleep was slightly more urgent right now. The SPR regulars were all busy; John was back in Australia, Masako on a shoot, Monk and Ayako were away on holiday together, Yasuhara was at university and Lin had Madoka over.

Her old school friends were also all otherwise engaged.

"Maybe a hotel… Or a hostel," Mai mumbled, she opened up a web browser and started looking.

"Mai what are you doing?" A voice asked from right behind her. She jumped out of her skin. "Are you looking for a holiday?" Naru asked scathingly. "You won't be able to afford that once I've fired you." Mai hadn't noticed him creep up behind her, she was so caught up in her own problems.

"No. I am looking for somewhere to sleep tonight," Mai said angrily. "Not all of us have the luxury of landlords who aren't scumbags. But soon as I'm fired I'll just leave then." She made to get up, but Naru pushed her back into her seat.

"Finish that case file today and I will give you somewhere to stay. How long for?"

Mai didn't look around, but his voice sounded different; less harsh perhaps...

"Just the night. I can move into my new place tomorrow."

"Get the case file done." And he strode off back to his office, closing the door behind him.

Two hours later, Mai was re-reading the final paragraph of the report.

"That'll have to do," she mumbled, and emailed it to her boss. Checking the time, she logged off and waited. Lin had left an hour ago to pick up Madoka from the airport. She was flying in from England to help out with cases for a while.

Naru said he would find somewhere for her to stay, which was uncharacteristically kind of him. Mai wondered fleetingly what he would find for her. Ever since he had returned from England last year, he had been more distant than before he left. Mai had hoped after finding Gene's body, that Naru would be happier. But his three-year stay in England seemed only to sour him.

"Mai, come." Naru was standing at the door, holding it for her. Mai jumped up and grabbed her night bag.

"Where am I staying?" she asked as she waited for Naru to lock the office door.

"I have a spare room," he stated, with no hint of emotion.

"Oh, I don't mind staying in the office; I can sleep on the couch. I don't want to inconvenience you."

"No, you can't. Security would throw you out. No one is allowed here after 7 pm."

"But-" Mai started.

"Mai, calm down, you will be staying in my spare room. Not in my bed." He smirked.

Mai blushed furiously and almost tripped down the stairs.

"My car is round the back." Naru led the way to a small black two-seater sports car.

"Do you own anything that isn't black?" Mai asked incredulously as he unlocked it.

"Yes, my toothbrush is blue." Naru climbed in and indicated Mai should do the same.

Mai almost laughed.

"Let me guess, because they don't do black toothbrushes?" she teased.

"No, my mother bought it for me. Small things like that please her." He started the car and it roared into life.

"How far away do you live?" Mai asked. She knew from cases that Naru wouldn't allow music in the car, a theory backed up by the lack of radio in the car, so she made a stab at conversation.

"Not far," Naru said, unhelpful.

"Did you read the case file?" Mai tried again.

"Yes."

"And?"

"Did I ask you to rewrite it again?"

"No." Mai took this as it was good enough.

A few more minutes of silence and they came to rest at some red lights.

"I thought you lived with Lin?"

Naru looked around at her and laughed.

"What?!"

"Are you really so stupid to think I would stay in the same apartment as Lin, when he and Madoka will be fucking every other night?" Naru had his eyes back on the road. Mai felt her face blushing again; she had never heard Naru swear before. "He lives in the flat below me."

Mai paused a moment to take this in, Naru almost sounded resentful of Lin. Was it because he had moved for a woman? Or was it because Naru was jealous of his friend's happiness?

Naru pulled into a gated driveway, leading to an underground car park.

"Come on." Naru got out, waited for Mai to do the same, and hit the 'lock' button on his keys. He then led the way to the lift. He used his apartment key to activate the lift and it whizzed up to the top floor.

Mai couldn't pretend that she wasn't impressed. The car had been fancy; the apartment block was obviously higher-end than her own shabby flat and Naru's impartial face made her think that this was completely ordinary for him.

"Mai? Are you coming in?" Naru was staring at her from within the flat; she was still standing in the lift.

"Sorry, was caught up in my own thoughts." She followed him out, and felt her face drop.

It was modern and sleek, and everything was immaculate. Mai knew she shouldn't have expected anything else from Naru, but seeing it was something else. Naru smiled arrogantly at the look on her face.

"You can stay in this room." Naru led the way to a large bedroom, decorated in red, with an adjoining bathroom.

"Oh!" Mai gaped; the room alone was bigger than half her old flat. "Thank you!" She beamed at him.

"What do you want for dinner?" he asked, as she placed her bags at the end of the bed.

"Are you cooking?"

"Well, how else do you propose to acquire good food?"

"I don't know. Cook whatever you want. I'm not fussy." Mai ignored his 'you're an idiot' tone. "But preferably something I can eat with chopsticks. I'm awful at knives and forks." She added, remembering his extended stay in England.

Naru left without a word and Mai followed. The main room was open plan and consisted of a lounging area, a spacious kitchen with island worktop and a dining table. She could see two other rooms leading off from the dining area. Naru was fetching a small wok from a hook and placing it on the hob. Mai watched as he undid the cuffs of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves.

"Come and sit here." He indicated tall bar stools on the other side of the island worktop. Mai did as instructed, and then removed her shoes. Sighing with relief as her feet relaxed, she started to watch Naru cook.

He had retrieved some vegetables, a few bottles of sauce and some prawns. Naru cut vegetables and threw them in the wok, which sizzled impressively. His hands were almost a blur of skill with the knife and wok. He flipped the contents of the wok with ease and seemed to gauge the quantities without conscious thought.  
Mai thought it was almost a performance. She had once been to a restaurant where the chefs were placed so that everyone could watch them work and appreciate their skill. She pondered whether he put this on just for her, or if he cooked like this every night.

"I used to be able to do this with PK," Naru said a few minutes later. "Gene and I terrified our mother by sending the knives to work without anyone holding them. Learning to do it with my own hands was significantly more difficult." Mai smiled, imagining the scene. "Although I wonder if that's because she didn't like the pair of us in the kitchen and playing with knives."

Naru's lips twitched at the edges. Mai speculated he was resisting a smile.

"Although the quality of my cooking improved once I started tasting it before serving. Gene liked to add random ingredients when I wasn't looking just because he could. I remember once he added banana ice cream to a stir fry we made without my noticing." This time Naru did smile. "Mother and Father tried their best to finish it and pretend they enjoyed it. Gene thought it was hilarious. I remember being annoyed because I had tried to make something good and he'd ruined it with his antics."

Mai wondered why he was telling her this, but did not stop him continuing as it seemed therapeutic. But Naru did not say anything else and served up two plates of teriyaki udon noodles.

They ate in silence and Naru seemed to retreat back into himself. Mai enjoyed her meal and told him so, but he replied curtly that he didn't expect anything else.  
"You can wash up," he said, passing her his plate. "I am going to read."

Mai thought this was only fair, and when she came back from washing up the items used for dinner, she found Naru curled up in a big armchair. She hadn't noticed him go and change, for he was now wearing a black t-shirt and lounge pants. Deciding to go and put her own pyjamas on, she went to the guest room and closed the door behind her.

She smiled again at the thought of the story Naru had told her. She could believe that Gene had done such things when they were younger, and was saddened at the pain his loss caused Naru. She missed Gene too; he had not come to visit her in her dreams since Naru left for England all those years ago. Mai had guessed that it was because his body had been found, and put to rest. That he had 'gone on'.

Foolishly, Mai had hoped that when Naru returned and restarted SPR, that Gene would return, but he hadn't. She was plagued by the dreams on each case and had attempted to ascertain their meaning without Gene's guidance.

Once changed, Mai grabbed a book of her own to go and read on the sofa. Naru's eyes flicked up as she returned to the room, but darted straight back down to his book. He had put on some music; it was soft and classical sounding. Perfect for reading, Mai thought.

Her own book was an English novel, she was reading it for her evening English class. Although she hadn't gone to university, mainly due to funding issues, she continued her education in night classes where possible. English, once upon a time her worst subject, was currently her favourite. It was almost as if something had clicked in her head, and now the language was no longer the daunting task it had previously been, but a rewarding challenge.

After half an hour of quiet reading, Naru looked up again, noticed what she was reading and frowned.

"Since when was your level of English good enough to read Pride and Prejudice?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Actually I am top of my class for English," Mai retorted indignantly. It was true, on their last piece of work she had received full marks, a feat that no one else had achieved.

"What class?" He scoffed. "You work full time."

"Haven't you heard of an evening class?" Mai matched his superior tone. Naru hid it well, but he was shocked – and pleased – that she had done something so proactive towards her education.

"Well, I'm glad you decided to do something to improve your painfully limited knowledge."

Mai ignored him and returned to her book. Not that she would admit it, but she was struggling a little on the syntax of the old English style.  
"Why English? I thought you preferred history." Naru asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"Because history I can learn from any book, English is a useful skill that is better mastered with the aid of a fluent speaker, i.e. a teacher," Mai said. But this was only partly true, a small part of her wanted to improve her English in order to go to England and find Naru. To explain that she never loved Gene romantically. To explain that she had never stopped loving Naru.

Even though he had been away for years, and Mai had been propositioned by a few other men, she could never get past the first date. She knew they had all be kind gentlemen and more than worthy of her attention. But they were not Naru. Even though the majority of the time, he was arrogant, narcissistic and almost cruel to her on occasions, he was also kind, in his own way, and had saved her many times on cases. She had missed his teasing, his detailed explanations of supernatural phenomena and the rare genuine smiles he gave.

For fear of her thoughts appearing on her face, she returned to her book.

"So why have you never asked to practice with me?" Naru asked, sounding almost offended.

"As if you would spare time out of your busy schedule for helping me. You would only get frustrated and insult me."

" _I wouldn't insult you_ ," Naru replied in English.

" _Yes, you would and do not think that will trip me up,_ " Mai replied calmly, pleased in the knowledge she had got it right.

" _Why would I insult you for trying to become less stupid?_ "

" _Because you always did whenever I asked questions before._ "

Naru did not reply. Mai knew she had him stumped, as everything she had just said was true.

"I am going to work out." Naru stood up suddenly, his tongue returning to Japanese. "If you ever want help with English, you can ask me." Mai looked up, surprised. Naru worked out? Somehow she just couldn't imagine him pumping weights at the gym, or going for a jog. In fact, he had started after Gene had died, as he had found he couldn't use his PK to help him lift heavier items.

Naru had left the room for one of the side rooms, he left the door ajar. Mai was very tempted to go and watch him, but felt like that would be overstepping her boundaries as his guest. However, 20 minutes later, Mai had thought up a good excuse to take a peak. Holding her book open at her current page, she tiptoed over to the room Naru had disappeared into.

Opening the door she said, "Naru?" It was a reasonably sized room, a desk on one side with several bookshelves adorning the walls and on the other side, a workout mat and a few weights.

"Yes, Mai?" Naru said, he had paused mid-press-up, looking up at her. There was a light sheen of sweat coming off of his naked torso. Mai found herself ogling, then backed out of the room as quickly as she could.

"I'm sorry I was just hoping you could translate a few words for me," Mai mumbled blushing, Naru had been topless. "I will just mark it and look it up when I get home. Sorry for disturbing you."

"Mai, come back here. What are you having an issue with?" He asked, continuing his press-ups as if there was no interruption.

" _Profligacy_." Mai read out from the doorway, keeping her eyes focused on her book.

"Profligacy: extravagance, excess, squandering, wasting. Is that enough?" He sounded slightly out of breath.

"Yes, sorry." Mai scurried out of the room and back to the sofa. Naru had been topless. Although she hadn't got a good look at Naru's torso, the mere thought was enough to get her heart racing.

Five minutes later, she realised she had been staring at her book without taking any more of it in. It was not late enough for bed yet, so she got up to inspect the small collections of DVDs. Nothing really took her fancy, so she picked up the remote and turned on the small flat-screen TV, after turning the music off. Mai was surprised that Naru even had a TV, it somehow just didn't fit him. She cheerfully flicked through the channels, looking for something she knew Naru wouldn't want turned off.

Before she found anything, Naru came out of the room he'd been in. Mai looked up to see he was still topless. His thin body was not overly muscled, but very well defined. He smirked at the look on her face.

"Like what you see?" Mai blushed again. Of course, she liked what she saw.

"I've seen better," she said, trying to sound confident about this statement.

"Oh really?" Naru moved closer to her.

"Shouldn't you go and shower?" Mai said, turning away from him. "You'll never get a girl smelling like that."

"Maybe I don't want a girl." He said from just behind her. She looked around but Naru had gone into the third room, presumably to shower. He came out five minutes later; Mai was staring into space, not really watching the TV show.

"Maybe I want a woman," Naru's voice said behind her.

"What?" Mai said, it took her a moment to realise what he had meant. She looked round to see he was still topless, wearing nothing but a black towel around his waist. She could feel the blood rushing to her face again.

"Even your towel is black?" Mai asked disbelievingly, trying not to think about what was underneath it. Naru replied by raising an eyebrow at her. He walked around the sofa and sat down beside her.

"I want to talk to you about something." He said, for the first time Mai had met him, he sounded unsure of himself.

"Go on," Mai said, bookmarking her page and placing her book down.

"I meant what I said before." His face was deadly serious.

"When?" Mai asked, confused.

"That I don't want a girl, I want a woman."

"Okay?" Mai still didn't quite see where he was going with this, and why he had to do it in his towel at any rate.

Naru took a deep breath. Mai giggled seeing him so Naru-ish. "What happened to your arrogance Naru?" She asked.

"No point being arrogant about something I'm not sure will even happen," he said, reasonably.

"Well, what is it then? You want me to set you up?" Mai guessed.

Naru didn't respond with words, but with actions. He leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips.


End file.
